


Communication

by lronspiderr



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bruce Banner Is a Good Bro, Cliche, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, Feel-good, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, IronDad and SpiderSon, Light Angst, Missions Gone Wrong, Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark Friendship, Nick Fury is Not Amused, Not Canon Compliant, Parent Tony Stark, Precious Peter Parker, Strained Friendships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-29 01:43:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20074063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lronspiderr/pseuds/lronspiderr
Summary: Tony makes a mistake when Peter gets sick on one of Fury's missions. Everything gets worked out, though. Peter's never been the type to hold a grudge.(Irondad gets reminded that his Spiderson loves him- no matter what.)





	1. Good Genes

**Author's Note:**

> maybe you guys can do a bit of a survey for me? Do you tend to prefer short chapters + many chapters, or long chapters but a fewer amount of chapters? If you had to choose between one or the other, of course.

It was the sixth consecutive sneeze that caused Tony to worry. It shouldn't have been a surprise for either of them to sneeze like that after they had come in from the rain pouring down outside, but the fact that Peter hadn't stopped after a few minutes was surprising for both of them.

"Sorry, Mr. Stark," Peter mumbled, voice almost nasally. He crossed the cabin floor to grab some tissues, and immediately sneezed again as soon as he had plucked them from the Kleenex box.

How the two ended up together in a cabin in the forest was actually a pretty short story. Nick Fury needed some airship escape pods to be found and taken back to the Avengers compound for inspection. Tony knew it was best if he went with Peter, who was still shy around the others, especially Steve after the fight in Germany. Tony didn't want Peter to work poorly because he wasn't used to them, and he really didn't want the kid out of his sight.

Fury hadn't identified what type of aircraft it was, so they were a bit clueless when they went in, but a pod in the forest would hopefully stand out like a sore thumb. Tony had kept the kid close to his side, deciding it was better to find it together rather than apart and with the kid hopelessly lost; after looking for hours they had spotted it crashed into the side of a hill by a lake.

Peter was excited by the strange look of the escape pod and led the way, skidding down the damp dirt of the hill and digging his heels into the grass to stop directly in front of what he assumed to be the pod's door. "This is it?"

Tony had opted to fly over there instead of slide. "I would hope so," he said as he landed beside him. He saw Peter reach out to touch the door, and was quick to set a hand on his chest and hold him back. "Easy, kid. This doesn't look right, and for all we know it could have someone in there."

"Fury hadn't mentioned anything like that-"

"Exactly." Tony took a step back. "FRI? Do a scan of this for me. Check for everything."

Peter moved around it in a circle while FRIDAY scanned, too curious about its almost-alien appearance to stay by Tony's side. Most of the bottom of the white pod was covered in dirt, and some ripped panels had tufts of grass stuck to them. The panels and outer shell of the pod had no screws to hold them in place, and Peter inspected it closely to figure out how the shell stuck together while FRIDAY finished the scan.

Tony stepped forward, "Nothing but some moss and dust. Pete, a little help with the door? I don't think Fury would appreciate it if this came back with a hole in it." He gestured to one of his suit's repulsors.

Peter jogged around the pod and dug his fingers into the thin crevice between it and the door. He ripped it off with ease, and dropped the door on the ground to the side of them. "Huh." He was surprised to find that the inside had only a cushioned seat with some moss and a broken belt. "I expected it to have like, panels and stuff."

"Probably operated from the mother ship," Tony explained. He glanced at the grey clouds that had been steadily forming above them all afternoon, then gestured at the pod. "Let's get this back before the rain comes and makes it a hundred times more difficult. Suggestions?"

"Uhh, if we could lift it up I can use the web bomb to put under it like a blanket, and then we can carry it back like storks," Peter offered, a hint of a smile on his lips. He was awfully proud of that comparison.

Tony made a face but complied, activating some small thrusters in the suit's arms to help him lift it. It wasn't super heavy but it was a lot easier to rely on the suit than his own strength. After he slid a hand under it, Peter shot the bomb and a blanket-sized web exploded. Peter quickly grabbed the corners before it floated away in the breeze, and they maneuvered the pod in the center of the web. Peter lifted up the corners so there was enough that he and Tony could grab and hold onto to drag it.

"How many miles off from the van?" Peter asked him, his enthusiasm a bit simmered down, as he held the front two corners and prepared to lead the way.

"About two. I can fly with it but you'd have to swing the way back. Are the trees tall enough for you to?"

Peter peered back the way they had come. "Most of 'em, yeah." He felt a small tap on his shoulder, and then his face, and looked up. "Um, problem." He held his hand out and watched a raindrop splash onto his palm.

"Shit." Tony had FRIDAY check the local weather.

"It's just sprinkling." Peter took off his mask for emphasis and smiled at the coolness of it on his face. It had been muggy and even with A/C in his suit it had gotten annoying, so the cold rain was a nice contrast. However, the rain started to come down steadily, and then began to pour. Peter yelped as the rain stung his cheeks, and pulled his mask back on.

Tony sprang into action, pulling Peter by the arm to a nearby cluster of trees. There wasn't enough leaves to block the rain out entirely, and the breeze had picked up and gotten bitingly cold. He couldn't feel it but heard it howling and saw the kid shivering beside him. "FRIDAY, any chance of shelter nearby? Any campgrounds?"

"The area was never allowed for recreational camping, and isn't open to the public. There is a cabin home a few hundred yards east, currently up for sale. There is no open house for it today."

"Perfect." He turned, "Okay kid, we have just a little bit of walking to do." He grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around to face east. "We'll wait out the storm there."

The terrain there was luckily even, and they had gotten there quickly. As soon as they had got in and Peter took off his mask, the kid had begun sneezing. He apologized, grabbed a tissue, and sneezed again.

"Did the rain get through your suit?" Tony asked as he stepped out of his own. He knew it wasn't possible, as the suit was insulated and could withstand submersion in the ocean, but rather he had asked out of confusion.

Peter shook his head. "I left the air conditioning on in my suit," he mumbled with a tinge of embarrassment. He looked around at the cabin, then, taking in the furniture and fireplace before he sneezed again. It had hurt that time, and he let out a little 'ow' and held a hand over his throat. He met Tony's concerned gaze and shrugged helplessly, not understanding just as much as Tony. "...I don't get colds, like ever."

"Allergies?"

"I'm not allergic to anything. I don't think so, anyway." He sneezed once more, and groaned with annoyance.

Tony took his glasses out from his pocket, ones that weren't named yet but would later become EDITH. With just the movement of his eyes, he pulled contacts up and the glasses connected him through. "Cap, Point Break, you copy? Nat? Barton? You guys busy at all?"

The glasses had a good speaker tucked into the frame, and he and Peter heard clearly the sounds of a fight. There was a grunt and glass shattering, then Nat's exasperated, "Maybe for the moment!" and Barton's "We're sorta preoccupied with a...alien?" followed by an arrow exploding.

Tony furrowed his eyebrows but decided it wasn't the time to ask questions about that. "Cap, respond."

Thor could be heard yelling delightfully in the distance, completely unphased by what was happening. A few seconds later Steve spoke up, "Thor, you got this handled? I'll come over there, Stark. You and Queens okay?"

"We didn't get an alien," Peter piped up.

"What?"

Tony repeated it for him, "No alien in ours. Either it didn't get in or it escaped before we got there. But regardless the kid's sick and he needs to get looked at."

"You said he didn't get sick. 'Good genes'," Nat commented, suspicious.

"That's why I'm asking you guys if you're busy." Tony began to pace the strip of space in front of the fireplace. It had become a balancing act of not letting Peter's healing factor slip as well as not doing anything to make the kid anxious. When he looked over, Peter was taking it well except that his face had turned splotchy red. "It's an allergic reaction," Tony told the others, to push their suspicion away and give them all a sense of where to start. "I need him back at the compound right now."

"We're a little held up," Barton said. There was a clear gasp of pain and then a surprising comment of, "Ew, it got its slime on me..."

"I have to help Clint," Nat said in an apologetic manner.

Tony's heartbeat quickened as his anxiety began to rise. He crossed through the sitting room and went to take a closer look at Peter's face, tilting the kid's chin up to see better in the poorly lit room. Thunder continued to rumble outside, the rain not letting up. "Does it hurt?" He asked. Peter pointed to his throat and tried to speak, but merely squeaked. He pulled his face away and turned so he wouldn't sneeze in Tony's direction. The sneeze got followed by a painful cough.

Steve cut in, "I'm on my way. Everyone, keep the slime off you. It got on Thor's arm and gave him a rash."

"...There was no slime," Peter reminded Tony hoarsely.

Tony didn't like being clueless like this. FRIDAY had scanned the escape pod, there had been nothing, and there hadn't been anything outside except dirt and grass. Though, with it being something alien, FRIDAY may have not had tabs on it and something could have gotten past her as a non-threat.

He looked at Peter one more time, watching as Peter's chest rose and fell unevenly, and turned around. "I'm sending him to the compound with my suit. Cap, I need you to set a perimeter and search for an alien on the run."

"And you?" Steve asked. Peter was struggling to protest in the background of the conversation but his throat was too itchy to say anything.

"I'll go back to the van," Tony answered. He cut the call's connection with a quick motion of his eyes, then walked over to his waiting suit and activated a protocol from a button on the inside of the lifted mask. "Kid," he directed.

Peter walked over but it was to protest. Tony wasn't having it though, and pushed Peter up and into the suit, which closed around him. The suit was a little big, but that wouldn't cause Peter any harm on the flight back to the compound. Tony didn't let himself think about Peter using an iron man suit.

Peter was glaring at him. "...I don't want...to go," Peter got out, his voice worse than someone who had smoked three packs a day for fifty years.

He ignored that. "Call for Banner when you get there," Tony ordered with a stern look. The suit's mask fell down, the eyes lit up, and FRIDAY went on auto-pilot.


	2. Should Be Here

The thunder had stopped and the rain had let up when Steve and Thor arrived. Thor had killed the alien with ease after catching it, as it had tried to retreat after a few hopeless minutes of putting up a fight. Thor wasn't going to let Steve go off on his own, so they went together and started their search through the forest.

After half an hour they came across where the escape pod had crashed. They kept a safe distance away from it, but got close enough to see if there had been any tracks left behind by the alien. There were only two sets of footprints from Tony and Peter, partly ruined by the rain.

Without a word Thor spun Mjölnir around and flew up into the air. He had hoped for a better view but the tree growth was thick and the action proved to be of little help. He landed beside Steve and shook his head. "Split up?" he suggested.

Before they did, Steve drew closer to the pod and peeked inside. "There's no slime," he said. When Thor gave him a confused look, he explained, "It was trailing behind that alien the whole time. This escape pod never had an alien in it to begin with." Steve pressed an ear to his earpiece. "Barton, do you copy?"

Nat answered instead. "He's sick too," she said. "We're heading back to the compound." Her voice sounded a little raspy, and there was the sound of an engine revving in the background. "How's Thor's arm?"

Steve and Thor both looked down at it. The rash hadn't spread, but it hadn't gone away either. "It's fine," Thor said loud enough for her to hear, as he hadn't liked the earpiece idea and opted out of having one of his own.

"We'll head back too," Steve assured her. The line went dead, and Steve turned to walk the way they had came when he heard a slight grunt. He turned back and saw Thor carrying the pod on one of his shoulders. Steve was about to tell him to leave it there, but he knew that Fury would likely have a fit about it, so he said nothing and led the way back to the highway the forest was off of.

\- - -

When Natasha walked in and tried to steer Clint to the room Peter was in, Bruce stopped her. "He's a lot worse than the rest of you, so he'll be separate for now." He had a sympathetic look not entirely for her, and led the two to a separate room. Both of the rooms had a glass wall, and Bruce regretted glancing at Peter who was in bad shape. He held the other room's door open and then followed them inside after they went first. Natasha plopped Clint down on the inspection table and brushed her thumb over his throat. "Hurt worse?"

Clint nodded, and turned his head to cough.

Bruce gently pulled on Natasha's arm and led her backwards onto the opposite table. He knew he couldn't get them to separate, and he pushed some jealousy down before getting to work. FRIDAY was there to aid him in scanning them and searching for remedies, and once the two seemed okay he went back to the other room. Tony's suit was standing there beside the bed with the faceplate down, and Bruce sent it a weary glance before approaching Peter.

"Did the cough syrup help?" He asked, softly, as Peter had been laying with his eyes closed and he didn't want to startle the kid.

"...Did they see me?" Peter asked, surprising him. He opened his eyes and had to use a lot of strength to get himself to sit up on the table. He was in his suit but his mask was off. He had it in his hand and held it tightly, worried.

Bruce shook his head. "They didn't, don't worry...and I won't tell them."

Peter relaxed at that. He let Bruce fuss over him then, giving him more medicine and taking another swab test. He had told him that this actually wasn't the kind of doctor he was, and Peter was therefore surprised by how much Bruce knew. He knew Bruce had a PhD in the field though, so it wasn't exactly shocking.

After Bruce did all that he could, FRIDAY aiding him, he took a step back. "I'll go check up on them," he told him.

Peter leaned back against the wall. His face wasn't as red and the sneezing had stopped, but he still looked in bad shape. Bruce expected him to ask if there was anything else he could do, or if he could have more medicine, but instead Peter looked at him with a worried expression and merely said, "Mr. Stark?"

"Um, he's not back yet. He should be here soon." That was all he could offer him, unfortunately.

They both heard the front doors open again to the medical wing, and Bruce saw Peter pull his mask on before Steve and Thor could spot him. Bruce wanted to say something comforting, but he had to rush over and lead Steve and Thor to a separate room. He started attending to Thor's rash and slight cough when Steve said he wasn't affected and left to go speak with Fury. There wasn't anything Bruce could do to stop him, so he hoped Steve hadn't lied about his health.

Steve and Thor had dropped the pod off earlier on a truck where the rest of them waited. Steve had made sure Thor had gotten attended to first, but he came back to look at them. They were now in a garage and being inspected by Fury, Hill, and some hired scientists. He looked over each person, trying to get a sense of them, and then turned his attention to Fury. "You lied," he said, loud enough for everyone there to hear.

"I did not," was Fury's calm reply as he looked over one of the scientist's notes. "I gave you all the information you needed."

"You clearly didn't, if my team's holed up in the infirmary right now." He came to a stop in front of the last pod and crossed his arms. Fury was on the other end, and he kept his gaze on him even as Hill glanced at him with a look of understanding.

"I said to watch for hostiles," Fury said, and this time his voice raised a little. "We knew as little as you did, Captain." He went down the steps and looked at the pod from the forest. He glanced at Steve when he saw that he wasn't moving. "The mission's done. You can attend to your teammates now."

Steve held back a scoff. "I need to know what we're working with. Is this the only aircraft, or is there more? How do we know there isn't more pods out there? There needs to be communication-"

Fury raised his voice to speak over him. "Fourteen escape pods descended from an unidentified aircraft this morning. SHIELD collected nine and you collected four. The hostiles have been eliminated, the areas where the pods crashed contained as we speak, and your team attended to."

"Where did they come from?"

Fury crossed the way to stand in front of him, and held a stern gaze. "Outer space, Rogers." After a few seconds of strained silence, he turned on his heel and walked towards Hill. "You're learning about this as fast as we are, Captain. I'll send you a report when I'm ready, if that's alright with you."

Steve looked down at the ground, then took his leave. He didn't question the man in charge unless he needed to, and he hadn't meant to overstep boundaries. There was simply a need for communication that everyone struggled with, whether SHIELD or the Avengers or the government especially. Understanding and trust came from communication, and from that came cooperation. If he couldn't have trust, then there was nothing he could do.

He returned to the medical wing and was glad to see that everyone was together now. Bruce had relocated them all to one large room, and they all were chatting. Well, the spider kid wasn't; he was curled up in the corner with his mask on, and from the slitted shape of the mask's eyes, the kid was trying to get some sleep as time neared evening. Steve felt tired himself, although it was emotionally more than physically.

He knocked on the open door and walked in. They looked over, and Natasha smiled while Clint waved lazily, a little out of it still. "He can talk now," Natasha said, "but his throat can't heal as fast as the kid's." She looked over, and Peter stayed motionless. "He's finally getting some sleep, I think. Or he's listening in to our conversation but is too shy to come over here," she said, and grinned when Peter fidgeted a little.

Clint had a leg on Natasha's lap, his pants rolled up to reveal a faded rash on his shin. He was toying with a cool-aid packet that he was debating to put in his water or not. Thor was sitting across from Natasha at the table, enjoying a smoothie and keeping an eye on his arm as if the rash would come back.

"You figured it out?" Steve asked Bruce, who was at a table with equipment scattered about it.

Bruce nodded absentmindedly as he stared at holographic screens. Without looking he gestured to a smoothie on the counter. "Drink that just in case," he said.

Steve wasn't a fan of the smoothie's dark orange color, but he took it anyway and made himself drink it. It wasn't so bad but the medicine Bruce had put in it had failed to be masked by the carrots and other vegetables. He took a seat across from Clint and sent another glance to Peter. "...How'd Queens get infected when the pod had nothing in it?" He asked.

Bruce glanced over at him, then. "Oh, they took tests of the moss. The aliens have something similar to pollen that later solidifies into their slime. The pollen was in the moss in the pod, but it was released into the air and he breathed it in. Humans are severely allergic to the species in general...it's quite interesting."

That hadn't been the answer that Steve was expecting, but with all that had happened to him and all that he had seen, he wasn't about to doubt it.

With a hint of shame, he had glanced at Peter and was finally reminded of something. He sat up straight in his chair, "Where's Tony?"

"He got held back by traffic," Natasha answered, "and then went to have a talk with Fury a few minutes ago. He should come in soon."

"He needs to drink a smoothie too," Bruce muttered. Everyone was quiet for a few minutes, then. They all seemed aware of Fury's lack of details, and Tony's odd behavior, as well as Peter's retreat to the corner like a spider in a bathroom avoiding the shower water.

Clint swung his leg down and grunted as he stood up. He rolled his pant leg down and grabbed his near-empty smoothie. He gestured wordlessly, something Natasha understood but the rest didn't, and left the room. Thor had picked up Mjölnir from the table and spun it around in his hand by the handle, not enough to stir up wind but enough for it to make noise. That seemed to stir Peter, who sat up straight and picked up a regular-looking smoothie. Bruce either had a favorite or understood something they didn't. Steve respectfully looked away when Peter lifted his mask up slightly so he could drink.

Natasha looked without care, though, and then patted the seat Clint had been in. "Come on, Spider-Man." Peter slowly got up and left the corner. He sat down and held his hands in his lap, head tilted down. She set a hand on his arm, "You're all better?" When Peter nodded and looked her way, she smiled at him. "So tell me, what does that suit have?"

Peter perked up a little and talked about the different web shooter options, the AI Karen, the different protocols, and a lot more options and abilities. He started rambling, and Steve realized just how smart the kid was. No wonder Tony was always fond of him, he thought. Even Bruce had become less focused on his work and more focused on listening to Peter, nodding every now and then when the conversation drifted from the suit to the specifics of physics.

After half an hour, Thor excused himself. Another half hour passed and Steve was physically tired, and retreated to his bedroom for the night. Natasha figured she should go find Clint and squeezed Peter's shoulder before she left.

Bruce stayed, working on nothing in particular, even after Peter fell asleep with his face smushed against the tabletop.


	3. You're Right

Peter woke up with someone carrying him. He closed his eyes again quickly, like a child pretending to be asleep so their parent would tuck them in. However, he realized his mask was off, and considering he had been with the others the last time he was awake, he panicked. The person quickly shushed him, and Peter then recognized who it was.

His eyelids heavy, he closed his eyes again. "...Mr. Stark?" His head was against Tony's chest, and he felt it rumble as Tony hummed an affirmation. Peter felt himself eased onto a bed, and he tried to grasp Tony's shirt but caught his hand instead. He opened his eyes and saw that he was in his room, and that Tony was looking at him with concern. He wanted to fall asleep but made himself sit up, and let go of Tony's hand to pull his blanket over him. "Hi," he mumbled, still out of it.

Tony smiled fondly. "Hey, kid. Glad to see you're all better."

Peter suddenly remembered just how long he had waited there in that room even after he had gotten better, and held back a biting remark along the lines of 'no thanks to you'. Instead, he took a deep breath and flopped down on his back, his head resting on his pillow. He made himself meet Tony's gaze. "...So, you talked with Nick Fury?"

Tony noticed Peter's expression and sighed. He turned and sat at the edge of Peter's bed, and tried to suppress his guilt. He knew the kid wasn't asking about Fury because he was curious about their less-than-civil conversation. Tony knew better than to rush and say something wrong, so he took a minute to form his words correctly and carefully. "I didn't mean to be gone that long, but I needed to have a talk with him. He spared the details when he shouldn't have, knowing that the team was running into something like that, and that I had you with me-"

He stopped himself. He wasn't there to get angry again, especially not in front of Peter, so he calmed himself down. "That's besides the point, though. I-...I know I should have checked in on you right away, I knew you weren't used to the team yet and I should have been there. What happened today, you shouldn't have been a part of it, Pete-"

"Mr. Stark-" Peter sat up and frowned.

Tony rambled on, "-and it won't happen again, because Fury's already talked with Cap and you know how he is-"

"Mr. Stark-"

"-so next time, I mean the next thing we do because _there won't be a next time_ that you get sick like that, we'll have all the details and-"

"Tony!" Peter yelled. He couldn't keep frowning when Tony went utterly silent at that. Peter realized too what he had said; he thought it wouldn't have been such a big deal, but it was to Tony and that warmed his heart. "Sir, can you just say sorry already?" He asked. "So I can forgive you," he added, in case it had come off the wrong way.

Tony smiled, then chuckled helplessly. "I'm sorry, kid. I really am, I'm sorry for-"

Peter held up a hand to stop him. "Maybe not that much," he said with a gentle laugh. They exchanged a smile, and then Peter leaned forward and brought him in for a hug. He brought a hand up to the back of the collar of Tony's suit jacket for something to hold onto, and mumbled into Tony's shoulder. "I was worried about you...and then angry, yeah, but I kept wondering why you hadn't come back."

Tony had hugged him back instantly, and shut his eyes for a moment as he put his head on Peter's shoulder. "It won't happen again, kiddo." He wasn't going to get into how he sometimes forgot that the team cared about him, or how Peter worrying about him sent a warmth in his chest that he hadn't felt in a while. It wasn't the time to dump his feelings or talk about how awkward he was trying to do things his father hadn't, and he wasn't sure if it was something he could say even if it had been the proper time. It wasn't the right situation to express that there had been times that the team hadn't cared if he dropped off the face of the earth, or that there had been times when no one had been around to worry when he did.

It was the time to hold Peter Parker tightly, so that's what he was doing. It was the time to feel like a father but not express it, and the time to just stop thinking about him and think about Peter instead.

Tony pulled back. "It's late, if you don't sleep I'll tell Dum-E not to make you any pancakes tomorrow morning."

Peter gasped in mock shock, a smile tugging at his lips. "You wouldn't."

"I wouldn't?" Tony stood up and then nodded. "You're right, I don't trust that robot with the stove." He winked and walked over to the light switch. He looked back at Peter. "...Goodnight, kid."

Peter laid back against his pillow and brought his blanket up to his chin. "G'night."

Tony nodded and flicked the switch before stepping out into the hall and closing the door softly. He sighed in relief that things had gone well, and made his way down the hall past the others' rooms to his own. He stopped a few feet away when Natasha stood there blocking the door. He gave her an inquiring look although he dreaded that he might know why she was standing there.

Natasha pushed herself off the door with her back and walked over to him. They were close to Thor's room and could hear the god's loud snores, which set for a strange atmosphere when she was looking at him in such a serious way. However, she then smiled. "You like Peter Parker a lot."

Tony understood how she knew the first name, if she had listened in to their conversation, but not the last, until he thought it through. "...You knew the whole time."

She shrugged. "You said he was just a kid, I had to."

"You didn't trust me?"

She crossed her arms. "I didn't trust the situation. I worried he'd get hurt, _not _because of you but because he was so young when I first met him. I haven't told anyone, and I won't, although I think Bruce knows now. He hasn't told anyone either." She set a hand on his arm. "I wouldn't go out of my way to hurt him, or you. For all I know, he's Spider-Man."

He really loved her. They had grown a lot more close lately, and he had come to understand that she was a lot more than just missions. She had come to understand that he was a lot more than just past mistakes. It was almost a relief for him, in a way, for her to know about Peter's identity. He could trust her and rely on her, and now his burden was lessened a little. She had slid under the weight to help him in lifting it. It was the start of a strong, amazing friendship.

"Clint doesn't like pancakes," she mentioned out of the blue. "Maybe do waffles?"

Tony rolled his eyes and moved past her to his door. "If he's going to be that picky then no one gets breakfast." He opened his door and looked at her with a shared knowing look that he wasn't actually mad. "Goodnight, Nat."

"'Night, Tony." She then gestured towards Peter's room. "He's something special, you know."

He nodded, his heart swelling with just as much anxiety as pride. "I know."


End file.
